Diya stood utterly powerless before Olivier.
Battles between Sovereigns were rarely seen by ordinary Deities, but this time, countless Deities witnessed it firsthand.
Even though Diya gave it his all, he was no match for Olivier. The Elemental Laws of Wind were known for their terrifying offensive power in material attacks—under the premise of equal strength. But Olivier's power far surpassed his, rendering any advantage meaningless.
Again and again, Diya resisted, but it was futile. Olivier no longer delayed—after all, the longer a battle dragged on, the greater the chance for unforeseen changes. He slashed out with a blinding sword of light and shadow.
Diya had no way to dodge.
He knew his death was certain.
"Olivier…before I die, let me at least understand—why must you kill me?"
"Cannot be spoken." Olivier gave only three words in response.
After all, this matter had been orchestrated behind the scenes by Sadius.
It could not be exposed.
Hearing this, Diya understood without needing further explanation. But he had no power to resist.
Olivier's blade descended. Both Diya's body and soul were annihilated. The High Sovereign spark of the Wind Element dropped and was caught by Olivier.
At the same time, the pillar of light from the Aether Sovereign spark dispersed, revealing a spark radiating divine brilliance, floating midair.
Olivier glanced at it but couldn't discern what element or level the spark belonged to.
He had originally intended to seize this spark as well, but just then, a voice entered his mind. He immediately gave up the idea and flew away without hesitation.
Those below, watching in astonishment, wondered—why had this Sovereign of Light killed the Sovereign of Wind, only to leave the Aether Sovereign spark behind?
No one knew the reason, but since he left it, everyone rushed toward the spark. Whoever obtained it would become the next Sovereign.
A Sovereign spark battle had officially begun.
Meanwhile, Olivier, carrying the Wind Sovereign spark, flew toward the moon of the Aether Overgod divine plane.
Soon, three more figures appeared.
"All obtained?" one asked.
"All obtained," came the unified reply.
The four of them each took out a Highgod spark—those of Water, Wind, Fire, and Earth—the elemental Sovereigns' sparks.
"Olivier," Uhtred said with a grin, "your teacher promised to take us to visit other universes next time. Otherwise, we wouldn't have broken the Sovereign pact to attack other Sovereigns."
Originally, when Sadius asked them to help kill the Sovereigns, they had been unwilling. Only Sadius' promise to show them other universes had convinced them.
After this ambush, the other Sovereigns would surely be terrified. Many weaker ones would likely flee to the material planes and not dare to show themselves for a long time.
"Then it's time to revise the Sovereign pact," someone said. "After all, rules are made by the strong, aren't they?"
The four arrived on the moon.
Sadius was currently instructing Linley in his cultivation.
"Linley," Sadius said, "do you wish to surpass the Sovereigns and become something even greater?"
"You mean—Father?"
"Your opportunity has come." Sadius smiled.
The four Sovereigns arrived before Sadius' palace.
"Greetings, Lord Overgod ," they said respectfully.
"Uhtred, Vivya, Zijing, Olivier," Sadius nodded, "I promised you, next time I will definitely take you to explore the other universes."
Only one of the four subsidiary universes had been opened so far—three more remained to be explored.
"Vivya, this is the token for the mission issued by the Sovereign of Life. It may be your chance to become the next Life Overgod. But since you are not a soul-mutated being, the odds are slim. The rest is up to you." Sadius handed her an Iron Crown and nine soul pearls as compensation.
The final mission issued by a Sovereign remained unfinished—only the Scarlet Crystal Diamond had yet to be found.
Sadius knew full well it was currently drifting within chaotic space currents, but he could not reveal it.
Whether Vivya could find it would depend on her luck.
"Thank you, Lord Overgod," she said.
"Olivier, now that you are the Sovereign of Light, the High Sovereign spark of Darkness will be of great value to you—it may let you transcend the Sovereign level."
Olivier was filled with emotion.
Although the Sovereign of Darkness was quite powerful, Olivier felt it wouldn't be difficult for him to kill him.
As long as he didn't escape into the material plane, the Darkness Sovereign spark was as good as his.
"Uhtred," Sadius continued, "I can't help you transcend, but since you've been researching the innate divine abilities of the Four Divine Beasts, I'll give you their corpses." He handed him a spatial ring.
"Thank you, Lord."
The four of them handed over their four Sovereign sparks to Sadius and then departed.
Sadius held the four sparks, overwhelmed with excitement.
With these four sparks, Linley would be able to transcend.
And as the father of a future First Rate Hongmeng Controller, he would truly secure his position as Supreme Emperor of the Coiling Dragon Universe.
Sadius brought the four Sovereign sparks to Linley.
"Linley, refine these four sparks, and you'll become someone who transcends even the Overgods."
Transcend even the Overgods!
Linley was overjoyed.
Without hesitation, he refined the four High Sovereign sparks one after another.
As the four sparks fully merged, the powers of the four Sovereigns fused within Linley's body.
His body was continuously reshaped and strengthened by this fusion of Sovereign power.
Just then—
The five Overgod phantoms appeared once more.
"Linley, Overgod of Space has ascended to his rightful place!"
The solemn voices rang out again.
Sadius stared in disbelief.
"No…no! Impossible! Impossible!" Sadius was stunned.
Linley had refined four Sovereign sparks—so why hadn't he transcended?
Why?
Suddenly, the answer dawned on Sadius.
The Coiling Dragon Universe had evolved. Its foundational elements were no longer limited to the traditional four—Water, Wind, Fire, and Earth.
A new element had been born: Aether.
Which meant…in order to transcend now, a soul-mutation of all five elements—Water, Wind, Fire, Earth, and Aether—was required, along with refining five same-level Sovereign sparks!
Sadius was dumbfounded.
Linley had lost his chance at transcendence.
Because of Sadius, Linley could no longer transcend.
Those with uncertain fate still held the possibility of transcendence. But whether they could succeed depended entirely on their destiny and opportunity.
Clearly, because of Sadius, Linley's opportunity had vanished.
From this moment forward, Linley could only be the Overgod of Space.
Linley was still overjoyed.
He didn't know that his father had cost him the chance to transcend.
All he knew was—he had become the Overgod of Space, second in strength only to his father among the Overgods.
"Linley," Sadius said, sighing, "from now on, keep an eye out. Watch to see if someone is born with a five-element soul mutation—Water, Wind, Fire, Earth, and Aether."
Linley frowned in confusion. Why would his father want him to watch for such a thing?
After all, even a four-element soul mutation was a death sentence in almost every case.
A five-element soul mutation meant certain death.
No point even thinking about it.
Things had already reached this point. Sadius had nothing more to say.
Hongmeng…still waits beyond the bounds of the universe.